Ethan's Nonfic blog

Have you ever experienced a series of coincidences to the point that it freaks you out a little bit? In August I went to a Jewish leadership retreat in New York State targeted at Jewish teens from all over the country who are involved in NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth). The retreat was a ton of fun and I learned a lot about how to be more effective in my role as a regional board member, but it was the trip back to the airport where the coincidences began. When I got onto the bus I scanned the seats and spotted my close friend Hannah. Hannah and I spent the entire ride laughing and catching each other up on our lives, and at one point I briefly mentioned that I am taking a flight from Newark to Boston and then taking another plane from Boston to Chicago. Then coincidence #1 happened. A girl sitting across the aisle said that she was also going to Boston. I then asked what flight she was taking and she was taking the exact same flight as me. We were the only two people t...

It was a typical Christmas morning in Orlando Florida. Since I am Jewish I never had a very strong connection to Christmas, but I have always enjoyed the festive music, cheesy movies, and happy atmosphere that surrounds me everywhere. Also, a fun fact is that oftentimes flights are cheaper on Christmas day because many people want to spend time with their families instead of wasting their day at the airport. So, just like always, my family and our friend Yael headed to the Orlando airport and boarded our flight back to Indianapolis. That is where this story begins. While we were flying my mom asked my dad if he booked a shuttle from the Indianapolis airport to the hotel where our car was parked. Pause. Rewind. Before our trip to Florida, my dad dropped my family and Yael off at the airport then parked our car at a hotel, and then proceeded to take a shuttle to meet us back at the airport. Pause. Fast Forward. My dad, being the laid back one in our family, said not to worry about it and...

There are moments that put everything in perspective. It’s a feeling nobody can really describe, and personally, I didn’t really believe that those moments exist. I have been in school for 12 years and have had countless experiences but nothing can really compare to how I felt when I arrived at Auschwitz. I arrived at Auschwitz early in the morning because tickets are always hard to get in the summertime. It was an excruciatingly hot day, and I could already feel the sunburn forming on the back of my neck. We went through security and started walking to the entrance of Auschwitz. The eerie feeling I felt is unexplainable. I remember walking in silence, alongside the barbed wire until I reached a giant gate that read “Arbeit Macht Frei” or “work sets you free”. A feeling of anger and disgust filled me as I stepped into the camp. Everyone learns about the Holocaust in school, and everyone sees the statistics of the 10 million people that were murdered and the 72 million tota...